What were first symptoms and how long after xray to hear

Hi all

firstly sorry to post I'm not diagnosed only recently been reffered for xray and bloods but been googling (i know that's always a bad thing) and just wanted know what people's first symptoms were please and how long after having xray did you hear from doctors

my symptoms are

cough for 6months + (always been told not to go doctors for a cough so left it until I got more unwell) 

for the last month I haven't been able to eat more than a couple of bites of food, my appetite has completely gone, a few weeks ago I was in size 8s now size 6 clothes are hanging off me, also cough started getting worse by now, lots of rubbish on my chest also throat feels different not sore but feels blocked/swollen like I can't get full breaths 

the last week has been the worst, struggling sleep with the cough now it's constant, worse when I try lie down coughing fits are the worst as with my throat feeling blocked/swollen hard catch my breath in between when it's consistent, muscle aches, hot sweats and cold chills, and started being sick now too sometimes, the last coughing fit literally scared me so bad, I was on my own with my young children and it lasted about 20mins but felt longer as can't breathe properly in between, after that the cold chills were that bad I was physically shaking so hard for well over an hour (might of been a bit of shock too maybe) and then after that was throwing up for a while even though I hadn't eaten that day, I had no energy at all to even move til the next day 

I am a smoker and have been for approx 7/8years on and off (stopped when pregnant with my children) 

I was hoping the doctor would give antibiotics as I'm really struggling with the cough and so scared of having another coughing fit like the last one, I have my daughters birthday party coming up and family funeral in a few days so really wanted just to feel "ok" to get me through them as only had xray done yesterday and they said can be upto a week hear back, doctors wouldn't give me any antibiotics she said she wanted me to have the X-ray/bloods first because of symptoms to rule this out first I'm seeing them again when results are back 

Does anyone know of anything also to help or ease the cough at all for now? 
 

TIA

 

 

  • Hi, I'm not a doctor but I would say you need to go back to see them with your symptoms. 
     

    smoker or not, if you've got signs of a fever, you need to be checked out.

    sounds quite similar to my eldest 19 yr old daughter, last January, I took her to the out of hours urgent care centre with similar symptoms - doctor diagnosed her with back pain and the pain was making her anxious, and sent us off home. 2 hours later I took her back because I wasn't happy, I could not physically check her pulse, it was racing that much (I lost count at 140) and asked for the nurse to check her pulse and temp.. well turns out she had double pneumonia which had developed into sepsis. 
     

    she spent a week in intensive care, thankfully they were wonderful and kept her out of septic shock.

    i was persistent by going back, as I suspected sepsis, my mum had it in 2015, so I knew what to watch out for.

    i would definitely go back sooner rather than later x

  • Codeine linctus or low codeine dose is a cough suppressant x

  • Oh that must of been horrible for you both, glad you trusted your instincts and got a second opinion, I forgot to add I've had chest pains too and some back pain but all on the left side, so did mention to docs about getting my heart checked too as my dad collapsed last year and ended up with a pacemaker so he told us get our hearts checked then but they weren't concerned about that so not checking, I have had fast heart rate and I don't feel hot to touch, more cold if anything even when having the hot sweats, when I was at hospital yesterday I went in just a little crop top and leggings and was still getting the hot sweats then, normally I'm the type not leave the house without loads of layers on, I was initially thinking myself it would be a bad chest infection when I booked an appointment with the doctor, it was a foreign dr so her English wasn't great so not sure if she fully understood me but it's very hard get an appointment at my daughters normally have wait weeks so took what I was offered, I will ring them tomorrow morning and see if I can get back in tomorrow as they only give out same day appointments between 8-9am and usually all gone by about 8.10! Thanks for your advice x

  • Hi Tia,

    I was diagnosed with lung cancer in mid November ( and pray you don't have cancer) but I had a dreadful, worsening cough which got worse during the time of the tests. I had surgery mid December to remove the tumour and with it want the cough. My chest specialist prescribed cocodamol and also prednisolone, so you could ask your doctor about that.

    You should hopefully hear back very quickly if the chest X-ray showed anything suspicious. I got a phone call the next day from the GP surgery and was asked to go in ASAP. 

    I feel for you so much about the cough and off course wish you all the best to get rapid relief and treatment for whatever you have.


    Joy x

  • Thank you I will nip to the pharmacy today and get some to try x 

  • Try not to worry about it, I know how worrisome it is but remember that coughs have other causes as well and all are not related to cancer. Please call up the clinic or your doctor to see if your results are in, see if you can see your GP to alleviate apprehensions. Remember that you can usually call in to have a talk with the GP. Some people have a condition known as Emphysema which can also cause weight loss and cough. Stay strong and please do keep us updated.

  • Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and glad they removed it and helped with your cough too, mine is bad, just started as an annoying little cough that wouldn't shift but it's really bad now literally eye watering, I didn't go til quite late yesterday as had take my youngest to nursery first (he only does afternoons) so nipped up around 2pm, no calls yet I will ask the dr about the medication too when I see them, thank you x 

  • Update

    Xray took 10 days come back, doctor called me in discuss results said there's white "fluff" (as he described it) on the left side on the xray (where I've been getting chest pain) they want try antibiotics for a week and then I have to have another xray in 4-6wks to see if it's cleared and if not will discuss further what will happen, I asked what it is but they don't know I said is it fluid on the chest but he said no so just as clueless now than I was before I went x

  • Hi there,

    It sounds like they think it's an infection and let's hope the antibiotics cure it. As I said with mine, they called me in urgently and used the word "mass" to describe what they saw on the X-Ray. 

    Let us know if you feel better once these antibiotics kick in. Everything crossed that you do!

    xx

     

  • I have a bit of a similar panic as Pink Paris. I've had a worsening cough (accompanied by some upper back pain). I didn't think much of it but went to the GP just in case. The GP asked me to have an x-ray and do a peak flow test. 

     

    2 days after the x-ray I received a missed call from the GP surgery (or perhaps the GP?).

     

    I called back and the receptionist said the result was flagged for me to book in an appointment with the GP to discuss the results. This made me panic, but when I booked it, the receptionist said the GP was available for a telephone appointment in 8 days time (Covid times). Freaking out a bit, as I since googled (I know...) that upper back pain and persistent cough were warning signs of lung cancer. But then on the other hand, 8 days doesn't sound that urgent?

     

    Any experience would be welcome. Thanks!